never alone
by 70ftofhair
Summary: They have no idea how or why their lives are spared, but they are determined not to waste it. It pains him to put the rebellion behind him, but when she talks about America, he's incline to make the journey with her.


Never Alone

Summary: It pains him to put the rebellion behind him, but when she talks about America, he's incline to make the journey with her.

A/N: Omg. Who watched the Oscars? I was watching the red carpet and I. AM. DYING. SAMANTHA AND ARRON. EDDIE. AMANDA. ANNE. HUGH. RUSSELL. ONE DAAAAAY MOOOOOREEEEEEEEE. SO FREAKIN' GORGEOUS. I should be writing part of my inception-esque story, but I can't get this story out of my head.

Review and let me know if you like this one.

(P.S. I am not Victor Hugo or a reincarnation or a spawn of Hugo nor am I Phillip Phillips.)

* * *

When they meet, he's no more a rich boy playing war as she is a poor girl trying to survive. When they really meet, they wake up more broken than wounded (and they're wounded badly). They have no idea how or why their lives are spared, but they are determined not to waste it.

It pains him to put the rebellion behind him, but when she talks about America, he's incline to make the journey with her.

Enjolras takes her to his apartment first. Luckily, he had the sense to over pay his rent, so all his belonging were left untouched. Eponine suddenly disappears. Enjolras pays no mind as he rummages through his belongs. He knows the rebellion was still hot on the National Guard's minds. It's a wonder that he place hasn't been ransacked yet.

As he sorts though his papers, he hears a knocking on his door. He looks up at the clock and soon realizes it's been hours since Eponine left. He opens the door to see the young gamine sheepishly in front on him. He moves aside to let her in.

"Everyone we know is dead." Enjolras says as she walks through his flat.

"No, not everyone." She counters. The blonde man raises an eyebrow.

"Who else is alive?" He's curious.

"Marius." She says flatly.

"How do you know?"

"I saw him and Cosette."

"We should say goodbye." He says after a while.

"No, he believes us dead. He's made his peace. Let not ruin his new life." She insists, but he shakes his head.

"No, it wouldn't be fair. Do you know where he is?" He knows that she used to be his personal shadow. She nods and tells him of his address.

"Are you sure you don't want to see him?" He's skeptical. He is not blind like Pontmercy, but she insists he go alone. He sees Marius once before they leave. The Baron, oh the irony, greets his old friend. When Enjolras mentions America and Eponine, Marius brings him forged papers to ease their travels and writes a letter for Eponine. They bid each other farewell with the promise to write often.

When he gives Eponine the letter, she doesn't open it.

_Hold on, to me as we go,_

_As we roll down this unfamiliar road._

"Papers?" Enjolras and Eponine make their way north. From there they're going to sail to England. After that they are going to America.

"Here." Enjolras hands the officer their forged papers. On paper he is Antoine Giroux, twenty two years of age with a degree from the university. It's not exactly false with only his last name changed. On paper, she is Eponine Jondrette-Giroux, twenty one of age, a former seamstress, and married to Antoine. Her papers are lies aside from her first name. She knew they age was wrong, but she had no idea of her true age. Her parents were quite the liars.

The officer eyes them before stamping their papers.

"Monsieur, Madame, carry on." He hands Enjolras back the papers. The blonde man tucks it into his pocket. He pushs the small of Eponine's back forward. The two continue onward with their journey.

"He bought it." She says when the officer was out of an earshot.

"Come 'Ponine, we must continue on." She pretends not to notice his little nickname for her.

They make it to England without an issue. They find a small flat as Enjolras finds work. It's easier for him since he is bilingual and can fluently speak English. Eponine has a harder time finding work, but eventually does find work. Every night when they return to their flat, he helps her learn English. They save every last penny for six months before they secure a spot on a boat heading to Virginia.

_And although this wave (wave) is stringing us along_

_Just know you're not alone_

_Cause I'm gonna make this place your home_

The ocean is tough, and the seas are terrifying. But it's the not the rough waters that scare her. It's the new life before her in America. Though she and Enjolras have always talked about their plans when they finally reach the new world, she's afraid that he will leave her. She's been always alone.

Enjolras senses this from her, so one night, in their shared compartment, he confronts her. They have their own corner. She's shivering underneath their thin, shared blanket.

"Eponine, I can't promise you the world," he says in French to keep their conversation more private. Her English is still weak, so she only speaks it when she absolutely needs to. She scoffs, but he takes her hand. "I can't promise that I can love you. I can't be Marius nor give you all that you deserve, but I promise if you stay with me, I will never let you go. You and I need each other. You're my anchor. I care for you. So please, no matter what happens, don't leave me," he doesn't quite beg.

It's not quite a love confession, but she squeezes his hand and nods. His heart skips a beat. He brings her hand to his lips. It's cold and dark on the ship, but for her, it's no better than the streets. Yet even in their small space while she shivers in their thin blanket, she never felt warmer.

_Settle down, it'll all be clear_

_Don't pay no mind to the demons_

_They fill you with fear_

She is having a nightmare again. It isn't the first time, and Enjolras was certain it wouldn't be the last.

"Shhhh… It's just another nightmare."

"The barricade. Gavroche." She sobs onto his chest. After arriving in the new world, they quickly find work. Enjolras teaches at the schoolhouse. Eponine met a seamstress on the boat who quickly finds her a job in a dress shop.

They stay with a childless couple with a spare room. The young couple are kind to them. They are helping to build Enjolras and Eponine a home in the area next to them. The couple, Benjamin and Jane, are only a couple years older than Enjolras and take the French couple under their wings.

Jane and Ben are lovely people. They call Enjolras, 'Antoine' and Eponine 'Nini'. (Eponine is the only person to call her husband, 'Enjolras'.) Jane helps Eponine with her English and works with her in the dress shop. Eponine imagines if the barricades had ended differently (and she had fallen for Enjolras rather Marius), Jane would have been Cosette and Ben would have been Marius.

For the first time in years, Eponine dreams of Marius as just a friend and not a potential lover. She misses the man, but she knows that she has found a perfect companion for herself. She convinces herself that even though what she and Enjolras isn't love, she couldn't imagine being with any other man.

Still she can't find herself to open Marius' letter.

_The trouble it might drag you down_

_If you get lost, you can always be found_

One day after a long day at the school house, Enjolras, used to coming home to Eponine's cooking, finds the house empty. He searches their bedroom and the spare for her. He goes to their other neighbor's. He ran through town, stopping at her work, but he couldn't find her. He returns home, he searches the back of the house for her again.

There she is, sitting on a tree stump, staring straight into the sky. Her face is dirty and reminiscent of her gamine days. There are mud marks all over her dress. Her hair is disheveled. He knows instantly she's been wondering through the woods again.

"Good god 'Ponine. Don't run off like that. The natives may have gotten to you." Enjolras says exasperated.

"I just want to go home." She says softly. It breaks Enjolras heart to see her so vulnerable.

"I miss France too, but you know that we can't—"

"I know." She said. What she wanted to say was, 'I meant to our home. My home is with you. Your arms are my home.'

Instead she just lets him carry her back inside the house bridal style. He places her on the bed, and they lay there until they both fall asleep.

_Just know you're not alone_

_Cause I'm gonna make this place your home_

Their house's finally ready. Eponine walks through it alone. She makes her way to their bed.

"It's not much, but—" Enjolras starts as he watches her sit down on their bed.

"It's better than the streets." He nodds knowing of her horrid past. They lay down in their martial bed. They bask in silence.

"Monsieur." She says out of habit.

"Please Eponine, you are my wife. Please call me by my first name." He insists.

"Antoine, why?" She questions.

"Why what?" She laces their fingers together. It's become an habit for them to always hold hands whenever they are in close proximity. They don't know whether or not they like this new habit.

"Everything. I am your wife after all. I want to know the man behind your shell."

"I do not live in a shell."

"You wear a mask. You show everyone that you're a strong man, I used to think that too. However, I know now that's not entirely true. You have your own demons. Your own nightmares, and I want to learn them. I want to know them." She pauses. "I want to know you."

So he talks. He talks of growing up rich, not understanding why his maid (the woman who raised) was not allowed at the dinner table when guest arrived. He talks of the enlightenment he discovered at the university. He talks of the females who caught his eyes and the one that broke his heart. He goes into detail on how he met every student who died on the barricade. He gets teary eye when he mentions Joly, Combeferre, Courfeyrac, Bousset, Bahorel, and of course, Grantaire. He tells her all his fears and all his dreams.

She lays down with him with her fingers stroking his cheek as he speaks. She listens.

_Ooo-oo-oo-oo-oo-oo-oo. Oo-oo-oo-oo_

Aaa-aa-aa-aa-aa-aa-aa. Aa-aa-aa-aaaaaa

Eponine isn't the only one with fears, but he thought she didn't see his suffering. Enjolras has the nightmares and the flashbacks of his fallen friends. The death and gore. Most nights, he doesn't sleep. Instead he watches over Eponine as she sleeps. Her nightmares are more infrequence. It's easier for him it, he thinks. He has to be strong for Eponine, his wife.

But Eponine is smarter than he gives her credit. (He likes that.) So when she asks for him to open up to her, he obliges.

It's not because of love he's so willing to tell her everything, he says to himself. It's because she's the only person he truly trusts in the world.

_Settle down, it'll all be clear_

_Don't pay no mind to the demons_

_They fill you with fear_

"No, no, no." Enjolras tosses in his sleep. This time it's Eponine's the one watching him.

"Shhhh…" She wraps her arms around him. She places his head on her chest and cradles him against him. His cries soften. She holds him close and feels him returning her embrace.

"'Ponine," he says groggily. He doesn't let her go, and neither does she.

"It's okay 'Jolras," she soothes. "I'm here." She kisses is forehead. He snuggles closer to her and falls back asleep.

_The trouble it might drag you down_

_If you get lost, you can always be found_

Jane and Eponine are walking home from work when the rain starts. It has rained plenty of times since she and Enjolras arrived in America, but Eponine had a weird feeling about today.

"What day is it?" Eponine asks her friend.

"It's the 5th." Eponine's eyes widen. It's the fifth of June, and it's been five years since the barricade. How could she forget this day? Every year, Enjolras always suffers from severe depression around this time. The first anniversary of the barricade, Enjolras stayed in bed for three weeks. Last year, he refused to eat the whole week beforehand.

"I need to go," she says. Jane nods; she understands that this day is a grim date for the Giroux's. Eponine runs back to their house. It's empty. She sighs and goes to the back porch.

"'Jolras? It's pouring out here!" Eponine calls out. Enjolras is sitting on the tree stump behind their house.

"The rain. It rained that night, you remember?" He recalls. She hesitantly walks out to him.

"Come, let's go inside." She motions towards the house. He shakes his head.

"Do you still love Marius?" He asks bluntly.

"What?" To be honest, she hadn't thought about him in years. Though, his letter remains unopened in her drawer. She knows that he and Enjolras still regularly write to each other.

"I hear you cry his name at night, and you never went to say goodbye." He reveals.

"Enjolras…"

"It's okay if you do. I still have the guilt of failing Patria and killing all of my friends. I practically kidnapped you to stay with me." He says. She kneels down in front of him and takes his hands in her.

"Stop it, America was my idea. Come in with me." She urges. He makes no moves to get up, so she sighs and kisses his hands. "Remember when you said you'll never let me go? Here's my promise to you. I will never be without you. I need you, and you need me. Marius is the furthest thing from my mind. The only man I need and will ever need is you." She kisses his hands again. "The only man I want to spent my life with is you."

"I just… I don't what to say," he confessed.

"Then make no sound." She stands up. She tugs gently on him to pull him up.

"I am lost." He confesses.

"I will find you." She promises. He steps forward, but she's the one who embraces him. Even with the rain pouring down on them, they stay there hugging, not letting go.

_Just know you're not alone_

_Cause I'm gonna make this place your home_

Days turn into weeks, weeks into months, months into years, and the two have molded into two very different adults. Their companionship has grown. They won't admit it's love, but when she's with child, they are excited. They have a son. They name him, Grant Combeferre. Jane jokes that he's so French, but Enjolras and Eponine give her a painful smile.

The nightmares never stop.

The burden always hurts.

But now they have love.

They have things and people and love to live for.

When Eponine gives birth to their second and last child, a beautiful baby girl with blue eyes and brown hair, they finally admit they love each other.

_Ooo-oo-oo-oo-oo-oo-oo. Ao-oo-oo-oo_

_Aaa-aa-aa-aa-aa-aa-aa. Aa-aa-aa-aaaaaa_

"I always thought home was France, but after all these years, I learned something," Enjolras says when he's old and gray. His wife lies in her death bed. She smiles weakly at him.

"What is that dear?" She coughs. He rubs her hand with his thumb.

"My home isn't a place. My home is you." He kissed her hands.

"I love you," she confesses. He strokes her gray hair and kisses her forehead.

"I love you too." She tugs lightly on his collar. They kiss chastely one last time.

In the end, she dies of old age, and he follows her to death hours later. They die holding hands. She waits for him. It's not quite heaven, but it certainly isn't hell.

It's France.

In fact, it's a little cafe.

When the two enter, they're young again and greeted by familiar faces. A curly haired man is the first to welcome them,

"Look who finally decided to show up."


End file.
